Bucks' Larry Sanders Stands by His Marijuana Use

On Friday, the Bucks' Larry Sandersreceived a five-game suspension from the NBA for marijuana use after testing positive for a third time. Initially, Sanders expressed remorse for his actions, apologizing to his team and admitting that he will "take full responsibility for my actions." But, after thinking it over for a bit, Sanders is still remorseful, however, the 25-year-old center has now decided to take a stand and defend his weed consumption in a recent interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and NBA.com. Check it out below.

"It's something I feel strongly about, just to let you know something personal about me," Sanders said in an interview with the Journal Sentinel and nba.com. "I will deal with the consequences from it. It's a banned substance in my league. But I believe in marijuana and the medical side of it. I know what it is if I'm going to use it.

"I study it and I know the benefits it has. In a lot of ways we've been deprived. You can't really label it with so many other drugs that people can be addicted to and have so many negative effects on your body and your family and your relationships and impairment. This is not the same thing.

"The stigma is that it's illegal. I hate that. Once this becomes legal, this all will go away. But I understand for my work it's a banned substance. I will deal with the consequences and I apologize again to my fans for that."

What do you take away from Sanders' comments? Sound off in the comment section.